Erika Alexander
Actress and Activist
About Speaker
ERIKA ALEXANDER is beloved for her iconic acting roles as Maxine Shaw (Living Single; garnering two NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actress/Comedy Series), “Detective Latoya” (Get Out), “Cousin Pam” (The Cosby Show), “Perenna” (Black Lightning), “Linda Diggs” (Wutang: An American Saga), “Barb Ballard” (Run The World; nominated for NAACP Best Guest Actor), and most recently as “Meredith Lockhart” in (Swimming with Sharks), the critically acclaimed Apple+ series starring Elisabeth Moss, Shining Girls as “Abby Keegan.” Upcoming projects for Alexander include the independent films WILDFLOWER (set to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival starring alongside Jean Smart, Kiernan Shipka and Alexadra Daddario), EARTH MAMA for A24, and T-Street / MRC’s “THE UNTITLED NOVELIST” project, directed by Cord Jefferson; with Jeffrey Wright, Tracy Ross and Sterling K. Williams. Erika wears many hats; actress, trailblazing activist, entrepreneur, creator, producer and director -- and is one of the country’s boldest, most daring, and powerful voices. As a creator, she recognizes the power of storytelling. And she believes that though content must be entertaining, when carefully constructed, stories have tremendous capacity to create impact and meaningful social change. As co-founder of Color Farm Media, she is on a mission to bring greater equity, inclusion, and diverse representation to both media and electoral politics. Erika has boldly stepped into the arena of film director, with her debut film The Big Payback co-directed with Whitney Dow. The documentary chronicles the story of the first reparations bill in American history for African Americans. A critical thought leader on racial and gender equity and leadership, Erika’s work in content reflects her deep commitment to social activism. She serves as a board member for One Fair Wage and Exponent, and is highly involved with many other social and racial justice orgs, including; The Poor People's Campaign, Color of Change, NAACP, UNCF, and others.